Review of The Watcher in the Woods

I saw this film when I was a kid; and, like most people, it scared me, gave me nightmares, etc. However, I never quite got over my curiosity regarding the alternate ending that was deleted prior to its release. I read about the "bat-winged alien" and the spaceship sequence in fanzines and The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film and, although it didn't dominate my every waking thought, I was always curious about the other endings. Now, finally, at age 25, I get to see the alien! I love DVDs! I love the fact that other people wanted to see the alien too and put it out there for all of us horror/sci fi film dorks to appreciate. I can see why the alien was considered silly and subsequently edited out. It's shabbily animated and looks kinda like a Chinese New Years paper dragon float. Also, the spaceship sequence is very dated by today's standards. It's very THE BLACK HOLE meets TRON meets Atari. HOWEVER, in relation to the re-shot ending, I think the original one was superior. In the original version, there is a greater sense of dread leading up to the chapel sequence, courtesy of some excised dialogue in which Bette Davis cryptically warns Lynn-Holly Johnson that they are dealing with an "angry, evil" entity. The scene didn't do much for me now, but if I woulda heard this when I was a kid, whoa mama! Also, there's more tension involving the mother racing to save her child, which directly mirrors the flashback sequence when Bette Davis was rushing to save HER daughter (unsuccessfully). Cheap monster or not, cheap spaceship or not, the original ending was WAY more literate and involving and tension-filled. It's too bad they couldn't have found a way to leave these parts in (and perhaps make the monster more convincing). Instead, the chucked all the intensity and reshot the ending a year later with the actors looking suspiciously more mature. Anyway, I just wanted to say how happy I am to finally see the alien monster.